The City Council gained insight into the potential generational impact roughly $600 million worth of proposed projects could make for the citizens of Broken Arrow during an all-day special session on June 18.

City officials estimate some $400 million in projects will actually make the cut and be presented to the Broken Arrow citizens for a General Obligation Bond package vote on April 7, 2026. City Manager Michael Spurgeon said the calculation to determine the amount of money the bond is expected to generate will be made in the fall after the City’s next assessed value is received.

“So, I think I’m comfortable in saying that by the first [City Council] meeting in September, we should have that number to the community,” Spurgeon said. 

As the City enters what Spurgeon calls the “education phase” of the General Obligation Bond process, the purpose of the June 18 meeting was to gather information from user groups, community partners, and City Department Directors on the projects they would like to present to the public for a vote. 

Watch City Manager Michael Spurgeon and Director of Communications and Media Relations Aaron McColloch discuss the 2026 General Obligation Bond and its potential projects in The Vibe Broken Arrow podcast. 

Representatives from community groups that use the City’s public facilities, such as the Indian Springs Sports Complex, the Broken Arrow Senior Center, and Arts@302, had the opportunity to present their vision for facility improvements and discuss the city’s partnerships with each of the organizations. 

In all, the City Council heard from 14 organizations who each presented their wish list of facility improvements they would like included benefitting Youth Football and Lacrosse, Youth Baseball, Youth Soccer, Girls Softball, Adult Softball, Arts@302, the Broken Arrow Community Playhouse, Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful, the Veteran’s Center, Broken Arrow Seniors, Broken Arrow Museum, Genealogy, Military History Center, and the Tulsa City-County Library. 

The following are a few examples of the types of presentations that the user groups made. To watch all the presentations by the user groups, visit Community groups, City Share Ideas for 2026 GO Bond with City Council on YouTube. 

The Broken Arrow Girls Softball Association requested $8 million to turf the fields at the Arrowhead Softball Complex, field drainage improvements, LED lighting, parking lot repairs, and a new entrance. 

“Number one on the list is getting all 12 fields, at least the infield, turfed,” said Broken Arrow Girls Softball Chairman Robert Shafer. “Having the turf infields would be the number one priority that we would like to see.” 

With all the rain this season, Shafer said more than two-thirds of the organizations’ league games have been rained out. 

“We get one big rainstorm like today, and that will rain us out for a week, unless the sun pops out and we get lucky with a little wind,” Shafer said. “So, if we had a turf infield, that would really help us out.” 

An estimated 1,500 girls play softball from T-Ball to age 19 every year with the Broken Arrow Girls Softball organization. 

Mickel Yantz, executive director of the Broken Arrow Museum, proposed an $8 million expansion to their facility, which includes a 16,000-square-foot project across three floors, with 5,500 square feet allocated to each floor. 

“Broken Arrow is 122 years old, and there are thousands and thousands of stories that we want to tell in our museum,” Yantz said. “An expanded museum space would help us do that.” 

At the Broken Arrow Veterans Center, which assisted more than 2,000 veterans last year with benefit claims and sent thousands of care packages to troops serving overseas, Board Chair Bryan Bandy said they need additional space and a larger parking lot. 

“In addition to what we have right now, what we need is a larger banquet hall and more parking spaces,” Bandy said. “We have 24 parking spaces, with two that are handicapped, and that limits the number of people that we can get into the building at a time. Additional space would allow the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Administration and the Veterans Service Officers to have more timely, efficient service, and more staff fosters better outreach, especially for underserved veterans.” 

Executive Director of Arts@302, Jennifer Deal, expressed a need to expand the pottery studio due to high demand, stating that they have a waiting list of 35-40 people for classes. 

“So, I think if we were to try and double the size of that space, I don’t think we’d have any trouble filling classes in there,” Deal said. “That’s something people can’t do at home, you need a kiln, you need pottery wheels, there’s just a lot of stuff. So, to make that space larger would give us the option of giving more people the opportunity to come in for classes.” 

The second half of the day was devoted primarily to transportation projects under consideration throughout Broken Arrow. City Manager Michael Spurgeon said he believes that between 45 and 50 percent of the total bond package should be allocated to fund transportation projects. 

“Transportation is essentially asphalt and concrete and everything that goes along with it,” Spurgeon said. "The administration will have a recommendation about what percentages to consider for each of the propositions, and that will come when we get to Phase 3, which is actually in the fall, after the public forums.” 

Engineering and Construction Director Charlie Bright presented several transportation projects, including intersection improvements and road widening projects, that are under consideration for the bond. 

The Council also heard about several proposed Public Safety projects that could be added to Proposition 2, including defense siren replacements, fire trucks, a new fire station, an expansion of the animal shelter, and improvements to the Police and Fire Training Center. 

Plus, there are several quality-of-life improvements projects under consideration for Proposition 3: Parks, including a new Community and Aquatic Center at Elam Park, a splash pad at County Aire Park, some improvements at Nienhuis Park, turf conversion improvements for Indian Springs Sports Complex, and improved lighting for sports fields at Indian Springs Sports Complex, Arrowhead Softball Complex, Nienhuis Football, and the Gardens of Central Park Phase 2, and more. 

Proposition 4: Public Facilities includes a wide range of facility improvement options that are under consideration, some of which include an addition to the Broken Arrow Senior Center, improvements to the Rose District Plaza following the purchase of the grain silo last year, an expansion of the Lynn Lane Wastewater Treatment Plant, and more. 

Proposition 5 includes several stormwater improvements, including a detention repair project on West Madison Avenue and North Birch Avenue, drainage improvements in the Rose District, a new bridge and box culverts on 9th Street, from New Orleans to Florence Street, and more. 

As well as drainage projects that will be included in Proposition 6, which could include improvements to the Adams Creek Watershed Basin, Broken Arrow Creek Watershed Basin, Haikey Creek Watershed Basin, and more. 

It is essential to note that the Council did not make any decisions as to which projects to include in the bond package at this meeting; it was only for informational purposes to initiate discussions among the Council, user groups, and City staff on which projects the Council will later include in the bond propositions. 

The Council also heard a presentation by the Tulsa City-County Library Director Kimberly Johnson with a plan to build a new library in south Broken Arrow. 

Additionally, as part of the previously mentioned education phase of the General Obligation Bond process, the City Council will host three public forums on Aug. 28, Sept. 3, and Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. to provide the public with another opportunity to review each of the project proposals in person. 

These public forums provide an opportunity for voters to ask questions and voice their opinions to City officials and representatives from user groups about the projects under consideration. Additionally, these discussions will help the City Council make decisions on which projects to include in the final bond propositions that will be presented to voters in April. 

The public forums will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in the following locations:
1. Aug. 28—Battle Creek Golf Course Banquet Room, 3200 N. Battle Creek Dr.
2. Sept. 3—Broken Arrow Public Schools Event Center, Varsity Room, 2200 N. 23rd St.
3. Sept. 25—South Broken Arrow Baptist Church, 7815 S. Elm Place

"This is the community’s opportunity to review those projects that we spent the last year gathering,” Spurgeon said.